Page 499 - Sociology and You

World View
Chapter 14 Religion 469 Religions of the World
This map displays the worldwide distribution of all religions. Emile Durkheim showed that suicide rates vary according to group characteristics. One of these characteristics was religious background. For exam- ple, Durkheim showed that the suicide rate is lower among Catholics than among Protestants.
World View
North America
Europe
South America
Interpreting the Map
1. Based on the information shown in this map, identify two countries where you would expect to find lower rates of suicide than in England.
2. What information on the map did you use in your analysis?
individuals meaning beyond day-to-day life. People mark important events in life—birth, sexual maturity, marriage, death—with religious ceremonies and explain such events in religious terms. Religion gives believers a sense of their place in the cosmos and gives eternal significance to a short and uncertain earthly existence.
❖ Religion promotes a sense of belonging. Religious organizations provide opportunities for people to share important ideas, ways of life, and ethnic or racial backgrounds. Religion supplies a kind of group identity. People usually join religious organizations freely and feel a
Africa
Asia
Australia
Religion Based on 50 Percent of the Population or Above
Christianity
Roman Catholicism Protestantism Eastern Churches
Islam
Sunnite Shiite
Others
Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Local Religions